


Love and Innocence Lie

by AriaBlackmoor



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Angst, Dismemberment, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Love Polygon, Polyamory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:56:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5937583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriaBlackmoor/pseuds/AriaBlackmoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mokou's never been good at keeping up with relationships, let alone three of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Innocence Lie

The village meetinghouse was cramped, a bit too cramped for Mokou's tastes. She really didn't see why so many people had stakes on what should be a trifling matter.

On the stage, Misty and a tsukumogami she barely knew were pleading their case to the gathered jury, “Please, we've been practicing really hard! We want to play for the festival!”

The gathered council was deep in thought. On stage she could see Misty looking out at her, her large eyes asking for some sort of help.

Mokou silently cursed her weakness before speaking up, “This seems like a fun idea. I mean, if anything goes wrong, Keine and I will be on hand, soo...”

She looked around at the table. Keine had a expression of shock on her face, probably not expecting that she'd make her complicit in this scheme. Reimu, the village elders, and Miko all seemed to be lost in thought. Across from Miko, where they'd expected Byakuren to be seated, Futatsuiwa sat instead. Marisa was nowhere to be seen; she probably got bored during the proceedings.

The tanuki set her tea cup down, “I'm sure Lady Hijiri would gladly welcome any cooperation between youkai and humans. So, this little old lady backs the proposal.”

A glimmer of light burst through the air, accompanying the sound of metal on wood. The dust clearing revealed Miko, her sword thrust into the floor of the meetinghouse, “Do you intend to bring all of Myouren Temple's youkai into the village? Madness!”

Futatsuiwa was shaking her head, “Take that up with those who actually care about that sort of stuff, I'm just a poor old freeloader.”

The tension clung in the air a few scant seconds more, then Miko began to sheath her sword, “Fine. If that damn nun consents, then I shall as well. Someone needs to keep an eye on them.” It never ceased to amaze Mokou how often Miko was able to find stupid ways to defy her adversary. Everyone knew that her followers were far more shady than any of Byakuren's anyway.

A few minutes later, the village elders finally spoke up, “We have come to a decision.” The leader turned towards Misty, “The youkai may play. But,” this time they turned to Reimu, “If there are problems, we trust that you will do your duty and exterminate them.”

Reimu nodded at that, then the elder continued, “Good. Well then, if everyone here who isn't a full-blooded human could please leave, this session is adjourned.”

Mokou soon found herself leaning against the wall outside, lighting a cigarette while waiting for either Misty or Keine to come out. Sadly, the person to reach her first was neither of them.

“Waiting for the schoolteacher today, Mokou? Or are you still trying to push yourself on that young youkai?” The voice belonged to one of the most unpleasant youkai Mokou had made the acquaintance off—Mamizou Futatsuiwa.

She started to channel the flames around her, “What's it to an old hag like you?”

The tanuki grinned, “Aren't you the one who always says you're older than me, deary?”

Mokou's cigarette burned to a crisp as she started developing a pair of fiery wings to combat Mamizou. Mamizou was just giggling, though, pulling a spell card out of her pocket.

Thankfully, the sound of the door snapping open knocked them out of their standoff. Keine and Mystia were both standing there, staring over at them. Mamizou laughed once more, waving at the immortal as she headed towards Myouren Temple, “Have fun with your adolescent love triangle, Mokou!”

Her lovers were both glaring at her, an odd look of hurt in both their faces. Internally, she sighed. Things had been so much easier when it was just Kaguya to look after.. Things were still good when Keine entered the picture as well—spend the endless days with Keine, and the nights in battle with Kaguya. After eight hundred years of isolation, the companionship was a welcome change...Then she met Mystia.

* * *

 

It was one of those rare nights where she and Kaguya set aside their grudge and merely shared each other's company. Behind the closed doors of the princess's room and illuminated by a supernatural flame, the two sat together, only partially dressed. Despite the atmosphere, Mokou sighed and flopped onto Kaguya's lap.

“I don't get it, Kaguya. No matter what I do, I can't get her song out of my head.”

Her partner laced her fingers through her hair, gently tugging her hand through it, “You like her dear.” Mokou tried to hide her reddening face, but Kaguya's grip prevented her.

“B-but I already like you! And Keine!”

Kaguya merely sighed before leaning over to kiss Mokou's forehead, “You're so young sometimes, Mokou dear.” Her mouth began to turn upward slightly, “it's part of why I like you.”

“Mmmfffff,” Mokou's face was scrunched up as she headbutt Kaguya. Kaguya couldn't tell if it was born from confusion or love, but she giggled all the same.

The princess patted Mokou's head, “As long as you make time for our nights together, you know I don't mind if you take other partners.” It wasn't a question, just a reiteration of fact.

Mokou finally turned her gaze onto her partner, “Yeah...No one else understands this hell besides you...” They both were smiling, lost in the eternities they still had to spend together.

The moment lingered for a short while, but Kaguya finally broke it off, “Just talk to her, love.” Mokou felt a pressure against her throat, “Otherwise, I'll rip your throat out.”

They were both giggling as Mokou brought her hands up around Kaguya's throat, “Not if I rip yours out first.” So another night of their passion began.

* * *

 

“I like you, Mystia!”

A quiet exclamation was all Mystia was able to eek out before her face contorted into a look of shock. It took quite some time for the night sparrow to process those words. She finally spat out, “That's s-sudden,” before once again going quiet.

Mokou had never been particularly skilled at romance—in fact, one could say she was completely unskilled. Between her lack of subtlety and isolation, finding people she could not only like, but become attracted to was exceedingly difficult. It took a century of battles to the death to bring her and Kaguya together; Keine had been the initiator of their tryst. Being the person to make the first move was a...new experience for her so she went the only way she knew how—bluntly.

Mystia's voice was almost silent when she next spoke, “I...like you too Miss Mokou.”

The words lit a fire in Mokou's heart, bringing alive all the senses around her. It seemed as if the clouds in the sky parted, shining a bright crescent moon down upon them, as they both stepped towards each other perfectly in sync. The cries of the cicadas sang a song of their own, countless fireflies dancing around them. Mokou let out a hand to the young youkai, smiling at her. She hesitated for just a moment, but Mystia took it, pulling Mokou down towards her. Her eyes were closed, face illuminated in blue light. Mokou's heart raced as she took one last breath and...

From her position behind the bushes, Kaguya thought it looked quite queer.

* * *

 

The awkward atmosphere behind the three lovers was broken by the tsukumogami's presence.

“'Ay Misty, we should get back and tell the others we can play.” The tsukumogami had been quiet during the meeting, letting the significantly more popular Mystia plead their case, so this was Mokou's first time to actually examine her. She could sense enormous power, something far greater than she imagined could actually come from a mere tsukumogami. Their eyes met as Mystia rushed over to the drummer's side, and Mokou could feel a strange animosity behind the gaze.

Yet not a word was said to her. The two bandmates began to fly away, Mystia waving back at them one last time.

“Mokou, would you follow me back to the schoolhouse?”

She grinned over at Keine, “Of course!”

The schoolhouse door creaked shut. She followed Keine over to the back row of benches and sat down next to her. Keine did not lean over onto her shoulder, as she usually did. Instead, she was looking away, lost in thought. It took her a moment to say something.

“What was that, Mokou?”

She blinked, “What was what, Keine?”

“Everything, Mokou. Why were you at the meeting? Why the night sparrow had eyes just for you? Why you were about to fight Futatsuiwa? Why it looked like you wanted to fight Horikawa as well?”

“Keine, I--”

“I was okay with you seeing Kaguya—I get that you two share a connection I will, sadly, never have.” She wiped her face clear of tears, “But I don't get what you see in Lorelei, she's just a night sparrow!”

Mokou was looking at the ground, unsure what to say or how to feel. Emotions had never been her strong suit. She stole a look at Keine, who was waiting expectantly for an explanation.

“You weren't there, Keine...Her song was so beautiful, I just...” Dammit, now she was crying too, “I never meant to hurt you...”

Keine was glaring right back at Mokou, her face stern, “Fujiwara no Mokou, you are over eight hundred years older than me. Surely you know what a night sparrow does!”

“No, it wasn't like that, Keine. Her song was different...it's hard to explain in words...”

Keine looked disappointed, “Whatever, Mokou. I love you, I really do. But, I can't be part of these gradeschool romantics. I'm sorry.”

With those last words, she stood up and walked deeper into the building, leaving Mokou where she was.

* * *

 

Mokou struggled to move her body while suspended in the air, but the ropes stayed taut. How Kaguya had assembled this contraption was beyond her, and while she could easily burn the ropes, she wasn't sure she would be able to stop herself from burning down all of Eientei in the process.

Kaguya stepped out of the shadows, “Hm, I never thought you'd fall for such a simple trap, Mokou. How pitiful.” She looked expectantly at her captive, but a response didn't come. She frowned, and stepped to Mokou's side.

Pain was the next thing Mokou felt, bones in her hand cracking in the process. She half-heartedly looked over at Kaguya, a trail of blood flowing from the princess's mouth. A pale cylindrical object was in her mouth, something Mokou quickly surmised was her missing finger. Ah, that must be the torture tonight.

“Aaah-ha-ha-ha! How does it feel, Fujiwara? The girl who disgraced your father's name has removed one of your fingers!” She spat it out of her mouth, making sure it landed in Mokou's hair.

“Hmm...” she barely was registering whatever Kaguya was doing, long since accustomed to the pain.

She felt Kaguya spit something else out of her mouth, probably another finger, “Alright, alright. What is up with you tonight, love?”

“I think Keine left me.”

Kaguya was frowning, “Ooh? What happened?”

A slight headache was starting to cloud her thoughts, but she continued, “She's doesn't want to be with me if I'm with Misty.”

She felt Kaguya hop on her back, “Ah.”

“I don't get it...I still love her...”

“You're so naive, Mokou,” Kaguya was patting her on the head, “Do you love Mystia, too?

“What...of course I do...”

“If I may, how long have you known her, darling?”

“Maybe a month...Where are you going with this?”

The sensation of something peeling the skin from her back cleared her thoughts some, the smooth trickle of blood dribbling down her sides. Kaguya was giggling.

“Have you ever heard of infatuation, love?”

“Wha? Isn't that just love?”

Her eyesight was turning red and hazy, but Kaguya's voice still rang clear, “What do you like about Mystia?”

“Her voice is so...pretty. And...and...”

She barely felt Kaguya sliding off of her, “Maybe you should think about that when you wake up tomorrow, Mokou.”

“To...morrow..?” Kaguya came into her eyesight again. Even through the red fog, she could see she had an unnatural grin on her face. Mokou tried to reach out to her, but her arm didn't seem to move. Looking to the side, she began to understand. A horde of bloody moon rabbits surrounded her, her arms gone at the shoulder. When...did...

That..

 

Happen..?

* * *

 

When they had arrived at the small cave the Choujuu Gigaku practiced in, the other band members were nowhere to be found. In the absence of company, Mystia was content to lay on the floor and listen to Raiko practice away.

At one point between songs, Raiko spoke up, “Hey, Misty. Who was that vagrant girl?”

“Huh?”

“Y'know, the girl who was eyein' you up over in the village?”

“Oh, that's Mokou! She's one of my best friends!”

“Friend, huh?”

“Well, yes!” Raiko was looking over at her, that characteristic smirk on her face. Mystia began to blush, “Although...maybe we kissed a few times...”

Raiko played a few more notes, a 'punchline' to her joke, then slid off the drumset, “That's what I thought. So, you two an item or what?”

Mystia shook her head, “N-no! Nothing like that! Miss Mokou likes Kaguya and Keine!”

Those names meant nothing to Raiko. She pressed on, “But you kissed.”

“Y-yeah...”

Raiko was standing directly above Mystia now, a smirk on her face. Mystia was acutely aware of how red her face was, something that only got worse as Raiko knelt down on top of her. Her hands were on both sides of Mystia's head, “So, does that mean we're 'best friends' as well?”

Mystia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Raiko leaned even closer, sliding one of her hands down Mystia's side.

Their lips met.

Raiko stirred a few hours later, feeling the warmth of Mystia's naked body curled up next to her. She's even cuter sleeping, she thought. Getting up, she walked over to the messy pile of their clothes. On top of it was a small piece of parchment.

“Sorry I wasn't around today, Lady Hijiri made me run some errands and then I got here and you guys were asleep...I'll come back tomorrow. --Kyouko”

Raiko couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

 

Mokou gasped as consciousness flowed into her again. She stretched out her hands, reveling in the feeling of having limbs again. Shaking the death from her body, the world around her slowly started to come into focus again.

She recognized this place. It was the clearing where she'd first heard Mystia sing. Figures Kaguya would dump her here. Yesterday's events began to flood into her head again.

“Keine...” she threw a bolt of flame in no particular direction, eviscerating a few mosquitoes along the way, “Dammit!” She fell back down on onto the ground.  
Even after a month, this place stilled smelled like Misty. Yet, it smelled different to her now—it was both the same and different from the scent she identified her with...it smelt of a strange emotion, something Mokou was sure she had felt before, but had lost over the lonely centuries.

Her hand brushed her face. She noticed it was wet. She tossed another flamebolt aimlessly, the only way to relieve her emotions. What had Kaguya said to her? To think about what she liked about Mystia? That was getting harder to do by the moment...

* * *

 

She gently pushed the young girl towards the village, “Be careful next time.” That girl had been incredibly lucky that she'd found her and not one of the countless nasties living in the Bamboo Forest. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she began to walk away, only to hear a melody playing in the distance.

Mokou glanced up at the sky, ensuring that there was still some time until she was due to meet Kaguya. There was. She stalked through the forest, following the sound. As she did, she was able to recognize that it was growing more discordant. It was certainly music, but nothing she had ever heard before; it was far more raw, louder. She liked it.

She traipsed through a few more bushes and found the source of the sound—across a clearing, two youkai were on stage, practically screaming the lyrics to their song out. A large crowd of youkai and faeries surrounded them in every direction, nearly swallowing the clearing whole. It was unlike any other concert Mokou had ever seen.

With no way of getting closer, she resigned herself to lean against a tree, lighting a cigarette and nodding along to the beat.

“Never would have expected someone like you to be here.”

Mokou barely heard the voice over the din of the concert. A faerie with a weird bushy tail was in front of her. It poofed, smoke billowing from its body. When it cleared, the faerie had taken its true form—a bake-danuki.

“Who're you?”

The tanuki snickered, pulling a pipe out of her satchel, “Aw, I guess it makes sense a popular girl like you wouldn't remember a little old lady like me.”

“Heh, I'm probably older than you think.”

“Kihihii, I wonder about that...”

“So, who are you?”

The tanuki once more dug into her pack, this time pulling out a small leaf. She made a small bow as she presented the leaf for Mokou to take. Once in her hand, the leaf poofed as well, turning into a small card.

 

**Mamizou Futatsuiwa**

_The Bake-Danuki of Ten Transformations_

Mokou had to admit, it looked pretty fancy.

“To be fair, the last time we met, I did not yet use that name.”

“We've met?”

The tanuki paused, taking a long drag of her pipe. She leaned closed to Mokou's face and puffed a ring of smoke into her, “You aren't listening at all, are you? You came to Sado, saaaay 600 years ago? Probably burned half my followers to death.”

“Sorry,” Mokou took one last long drag of her cigarette, “I wasn't the type to listen to reason back then.”

“Oh, no, I get it. I'm not the type to hold grudges,” Mamizou emphasized that statement, “I certainly hope I can make your acquaintance now.”

Mokou grunted, flicking a cigarette butt at her. Before Mamizou could respond, the screech of a guitar roared over the crowd, drawing their attention.

“We want to thank everyone for coming to our show!” The non-winged youkai screamed out.

The winged youkai followed it up, “This next song is our finale! Let's do this!”

The crowd roared as the wingless youkai wailed on the guitar again. The other youkai stepped forward, a magical moonlight beaming down on her.

The moment she opened her mouth, Mokou was spellbound. Even compared to the rest of the concert, this one felt special. The singer was screaming, and yet it was so melodic. The sheer, raw emotion...it felt like it was written just for her. It was as if the wild singing released all the self-hatred she had accumulated over the centuries.

As the song began to end, Mokou's senses came back to her. It was noticeably warmer than before, a ring of flames surrounding her. Besides the eccentric tanuki, the crowd around her had all backed off. The girls on stage were waving at the audience as everyone began to filter out.

“Having fun there, Mokou?” Mokou glared at the tanuki. She hadn't given her permission to address her by her first name yet.

Futatsuiwa was smiling though, “What if I said I can introduce you to the band?”

Mokou's eyebrows raised at that.

“Come on then.” She started walking towards the stage.

* * *

 

On the stage, Mokou and the night sparrow seemed to be hitting it off nicely. Mamizou walked away, her mission accomplished. When she made it to the main road, she turned in the direction of Myouren Temple.

“I hope this works out, 'Kuren.”

* * *

 

Fire. The fire was consuming this place. The fire gave her clarity.

The fire ate her alive.

* * *

 

 

A swift kick to the gut was the next thing Mokou felt.

“Get up, Fujiwara.”

She slowly opened her eyes, coming to from yet another death. A red haired woman was looking down at her, slightly annoyed. She rubbed her eyes again, vision once more coming into focus. It was that tsukumogami from before, she wished she'd got her name. Mokou pushed herself up into a sitting position.

“Well, that's a start. Why'd you burn our stage?”

She softly smiled at the drummer, “Is she here?”

“Hm, Misty? Yeah, she's over there,” she nodded over towards the trees. Mokou got up and started walking off.“Hey, wait! You didn't answer my question!”

Mystia stepped out into the daylight, her expression blank.

“Mystia...”

“I-I don't get--”

“I'm sorry, Mystia.”

“--What? What do you mean, Mokou?”

“I like you, Misty, but this...thing between us, I realized it isn't real. It isn't love.”

There was an awkward silence between then.

“L-love? Miss Mokou, we're not like that...right?”

“Right. That's why I'm saying I'm sorry, Misty. I can't let us go on like we were.” Mystia's head was tilted slightly, confused.

“So, um, see ya around...”

Before Mystia could find the words to say, Mokou had already walked off.

“Did she tell you why she burned our field up?” Raiko asked her.

“No,” Mystia leaned into Raiko's chest, attempting to kiss her neck, “No she didn't.”

* * *

 

 

It was sunset by the time Mokou reached the Keine's schoolhouse. She could see a lamp on inside, confirming that Keine was there.

She pushed open the door and walked through the empty classroom into the backroom. Keine was at her desk, writing something. She looked up.

“Oh, Mokou...”

Mokou pulled a chair out and sat on it, “Keine...”

“I assume there is a reason you've come to visit me?”

“Yeah...I ended the thing with Mystia.”

“I figured you would. But...”

“But?”

“It still hurts, Mokou.” Keine set down the fountain pen down and finally looked up at Mokou, “I never want to feel that jealous again.”

“Keine, I don't want to make you feel that way either! I-I promise!”

Keine looked at her, uncertainty in her eyes, “I don't know if I can believe that...What will happen if another girl strikes your fancy next time?”

“They won't...I've thought about this a lot. Keine, before I met you, I had never felt something like that before. Despite my age, I had never allowed myself to grow close to anyone.”

“What abo--”

“Anyone mortal. You know that's different. I've never allowed myself to experience the ups and downs of romance before now...I don't want to hurt you like that ever again.”

Keine was looking at her with cold eyes, not a hint of sympathy behind them, “...Alright. If you ever feel that way about another girl--”

“I won't!”

Keine sighed, “Don't make a promise you can't keep, Mokou. Infatuation happens to all of us.”

“Kaguya mentioned that word, too.”

“I'm not surprised. It's why, if you feel that way again, you should talk to me about it. We can work it out,” she grabbed Mokou's hand and pulled it close, “Please don't make me complicit in something like that again, Mokou.”

Mokou shook her head, “I won't, Keine.”

“Good.” Keine's expression shifted to a weak but telling smile, “Now then, would you like some tea, love?”

Mokou leaned back into her chair, finally at ease, “I'd love some.” It might take some time for the emotional wounds to heal, but life would go on. Maybe she'd spend some time here for a while, ever since the night she went to the concert, she hadn't spent much appreciable time with her lover. Keine came back with a glass of tea. They basked in each other's silence for some time, only broken by the crinkling of the assignments Keine was grading. Curling her hands around the mug, she took a sip and sighed.

“What are you thinking about, Mokou?”

“Just thinkin' about how lovely this is.”

“Hm, I don't think you'd say that if you had to grade these papers.”

Mokou smirked at that, "Nah, I'd just burn them."

Keine covered her face, stifling down a laugh, "Of course you would." Keine quickly taking on a calculating look, "Perhaps the Hourai Maiden would instead use those fire skills to cook us some dinner?"

Mokou sprung up at that, glad to make herself useful, "What are we having?"

* * *

 

 

The princess was sitting, reading a book in the moonlight when Mokou finally fell through the window to her room.

“Finally decided to show up, Mokou? It's been boring without you traipsing around the past week.”

“Yeah, sorry. I was spending a lot of time with Keine recently.” She was grinning.

Kaguya seemed indifferent to the comment, “At least that's better than with that night sparrow. I'll forgive you this once.”

“Forgive me? You deign to forgive me?” there was a clap and flame burst into being in Mokou's hand.

Kaguya jumped up, instantly taking on the royal demeanor she ever loved, “Aaahaahaa, why else would you crawl back to me night after night? Or perhaps you wish to kiss my feet!”

The flames grew in Mokou's hands, brighter than Kaguya had seen in quite some time, “I am Fujiwara no Mokou, and I will never bow to you!”

Reality began to bend around them, the room giving way to a vast, empty plane. Illuminated by a thousand fireballs shooting through the air, it was the perfect place for a romance of their own.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this work! When I first decided to write a Mokou fic, I tried to choose a ship but found all of them were just too good! Thankfully, that in and of itself is a story.
> 
> Although this story is standalone, if you're wondering about some of the loose plot threads here, I'll be covering that in another story at some point. I guess you could call it the beginning of the "Meeting of Summer Romance" Incident! Anyways, See you next time!


End file.
